


Realization - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

by IntrovertedOwl



Category: Bollywood Movies, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Genre: Bollywood, Deepika Padukone - Freeform, F/M, Introspection, Ranbir Kapoor - Freeform, YJHD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2019-01-01 00:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12144408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrovertedOwl/pseuds/IntrovertedOwl
Summary: Bunny reflects on his moments with Naina. Set in the movie timeline immediately after the kiss.





	Realization - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from Wattpad: 
> 
> Set after the kiss but before he tells her he loves her and they break up. Bunny reflects on his moments with Naina.
> 
> A lot of the lines in italics are dialogues directly lifted from the movie and translated into English.

_"But, you know, with Taran... How do I explain this... You know, it's like, before I met him, I was fine... everything was fine... But when I met him I realized I could be happy too._

_It's simple. With some people, you feel better by just spending time with them."_

 

 

He didn't know why it took him so long. 

 

He should've realized it that day when they toured the city together. Or before, during the  _sangeet_  ceremony when he ended up performing with her because he couldn't see her upset. Or... well, come to think of it... it had been clear even all those years ago that they  _connected_. He remembered talking to her of things he had never even told Adi or Avi, and they were his best friends! He had told her of his dreams of seeing the world; and later confided in her about his fears... About wondering what his Dad would say, his friends not being happy with his decision...

 

Heck, as much as he loved teasing her and annoying her with crude jokes, she brought out that softer, more "sentimental" side of his that he rarely displayed. Like when he convinced her to come to that party. What had he said? Something about how he would've fallen for her smile ages ago if he had a heart...

 

Huh. Talk of foreshadowing.

 

He'd left everyone behind when he went abroad. It had been too much of a hassle for him to keep everyone updated about his whereabouts. And it decreased even more after dad... left. Just the occasional Skype chat. No wonder there'd been so much tension the day they'd arrived, especially with Avi.

 

And yet, with Naina... it was like he'd never left. They picked up right where they'd left off. He tried a cheesy pickup line on her ( _"Have you always been so beautiful, or is this the magic of time?"_ He wasn't completely joking either, that quiet girl with that adorable smile had turned into an elegant and  _really_ hot lady), she laughed and retorted back. And used the cold water thing to tell him that he just needed to give things time, and everything would be okay... Like she knew what was troubling him, and told him exactly what he needed to hear. It had left him feeling all warm and fuzzy, in spite of what had happened earlier. He should've known then, how much she meant to him. How well she understood him; how much he needed her.

 

And things truly did start looking up after that night. There was the  _mehendi_ ceremony where he tried to sneak off but she somehow convinced him to stay -- even to change into some "wedding-appropriate" clothing! And slowly, some fights and shouting matches later, Avi and he were getting back on track. He pulled a Bollywood move when Naina got upset at the  _sangeet_ , then toured the city with her the next day (their first, unofficial date, even if they didn't know it).

 

Where all those years earlier he'd been the one to push Naina out of her comfort zone, now the tables had turned, and  _she_ was the one who was opening  _him_ up to changes, to a different lifestyle -- one that didn't involve rushing into everything; one that involved simply sitting and enjoying the sunset instead of trying to check off everything on his "list".

 

_"No matter how much you try Bunny, you will always miss out on something in life. So let's just... enjoy the moment," she'd said, after throwing away his list._

 

And he did.

 

For the first time in so many years, he'd just... sat back, and enjoyed the moment. With her. Naina.

 

And maybe it was what she'd said then, about missing out on things, or maybe it was what had happened before, when, after they'd argued almost the whole day about their different lives, she'd smiled and accepted that neither of them were  _right_. They were just different. No judgement; just acceptance.

 

Maybe that's why he felt like explaining it to her -- she must've known Adi's side of things, seeing as they'd gotten so close over the years -- or maybe he just wanted to talk to someone, and he knew she wouldn't judge him for it, and he told her.

 

Three years he'd been carrying around that guilt. Of not being there when his dad dies. Of not even attending his last rites. He hadn't seen him in three years and hadn't talked to him in a month.He'd been annoyed because his father would keep pestering him to come home for a few days even though Bunny didn't have the time. And then he died and Bunny found out about it five days later. The guilt ate at him and he wished he'd listened to him. Made that one trip to India he kept postponing. He had friends there with him but none of them had known his Dad and he wasn't close to them anyway. He'd pushed the guilt to the back of his mind (even avoiding going home and meeting his step-mother) but it had come crashing back when Avi had shouted at him the other day -- he'd almost lost it then, but he couldn't afford to break in front of him then, not when they were in such a bad place.

 

And so he'd just said blankly, that they were right. They shouldn't expect him to keep in touch with them, they shouldn't expect  _anything_  from him; that's who he is.

 

But it had brought the guilt back to the front of his mind, and he'd wanted  _so much_  for someone to listen to him, to tell him that it was alright.

 

And there, after that peaceful evening with her, he'd spilled it all out in the car ride back. He wasn't even looking at her, maybe a part of him still feared that she'd be disappointed. He was afraid of seeing that disapproval in her beautiful eyes.

 

But she hadn't said anything. She just reached out and held his hand, which forced him to look at her, and leaned against his shoulder. Warmth and relief flooded him and he felt so incredibly  _light_ , truly  _relaxed_ , for the first time since his father's death. And somewhere on the way they'd both dozed off, leaning against each other.

 

When they'd woken up later, he'd been a bit surprised to see her so close, sleeping with her head on his chest and holding his arm, but it had felt... nice. And when she stirred, looked up, somewhat startled herself at being so close to him, he'd been drawn strongly to those beautiful, doe eyes looking up at him and those soft, utterly kissable lips. He wasn't sure but he might have even moved forward, but she'd left the car, and he'd been left blinking and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

 

Not that the attraction had been a sudden thing. He'd found her beautiful years back too, and he found her beautiful now. He'd been flirting with her constantly ever since the cocktail party when he found out she wasn't married. He'd kept it careless, because, well, like he'd said all those years earlier, Naina wasn't made for flirting... She was made for love. And she may have grown out of her shell, but she was still the same quiet and simple girl.

 

So he figured it was just the drowsiness that had made him forget that she wasn't just any pretty girl sleeping in his arms.

 

Funny, how his brain would keep finding excuses.

 

You'd think after all this, he'd know that she wasn't just a  _friend_ for him. But of course he needed someone to jolt him to his senses.

 

He'd finally made peace with Avi. Like Naina had said he would. And he was feeling content. Or as content as you could feel in a party where everywhere you look, you see couples, and you seem to be the only one still single. He'd seen Taran, Aditi, and Avi, and (obviously) jumped to the wrong conclusion (he was pretty sure Naina knew what Adi's feelings used to be, and what they were now, she was more astute about this stuff, and Jeez, could he have fallen any harder?). And Aditi told him she was in love with  _Taran_ not Avi, and she told him how she felt about him, and things suddenly fell into place.

 

 _"With some people, you feel better by just spending time with them."_  

 

It had taken him eight years, lots of alone-time with her, and one enlightening conversation with his engaged best friend, to finally realize that he had  _feelings_ for her. Because that was exactly how he felt with her. She could make him feel better by just spending time with him. She could brighten up his day by just smiling at him. If she was upset, things were bad. If he could make her happy again, he felt useful. Productive. He saw the beer bottles and a memory, eight years old, but still fresh in his mind, flashed in front of his eyes. He smiled slightly, grabbed two of the bottles, and went looking for her. Sure, she'd protest at first that she "doesn't like drinking". He'd remind her of the time they'd drunk together. It felt curiously nice to know that he was the only one who could make her drink...

 

She was sitting by the poolside, looking beautiful in a white kurti. He'd paused for a while, to look at her, while her back was turned... What happened next still made his blood boil.

 

Some random dude came in uttering some horribly cheesy line about the "intoxicating night" and offered Naina a bottle of beer... and she  _accepted_ it with a "Hi". Like she was  _expecting_ him to come there and offer her a drink. The jerk saw Bunny there then, but if he hadn't, he'd probably have gone and punched him anyway, for daring to think he even had a  _chance_ with his girl.

 

The stranger asked him something, but he ignored him and addressed Naina - who was he and what was he doing there. Naina had frowned at his rudeness but she'd answered him anyway, but the guy -- Vikram? Vikrant? -- didn't seem to get the hint. He was actively  _flirting_ with her. Bunny finally lost his cool, and snapped at him to leave. Naina glared at him, but the idiot actually ignored him and went ahead. Losing it completely, Bunny told him he was Naina's boyfriend, and they came close, very close, to an actual fight, and Bunny would have loved it. Loved to take his frustration out on him, but Naina intervened. There was a loud ringing in his ears and he barely heard what she said to th- Vikram - to make him leave, before turning to him, (understandably) angry.

 

He'd forced himself to breathe deeply to calm himself, but it wasn't working.

 

_"You... are NOT my boyfriend!"_

_"So is he?"_

_"What's GOTTEN into you, Bunny?! Go and apologize to him!"_

_As if Bunny would ever do that. Why couldn't she SEE it?_

_"I'd rather break his face," he snapped._

 

 He didn't know where this sudden possessive streak came in from. He'd been happily teasing her about secret admirers only a few days back. And he'd been so busy he'd never bothered to ask if she was seeing someone. He'd simply assumed that she wasn't. That if she'd been spending so much time with him, she probably had feelings for him too. Bunny had never been that naive. But there he was, angry that she was actually drinking with someone else.

 

_"You've lost your mind, Bunny," said an even more pissed off Naina, before walking past him angrily._

_But his mind was working in overdrive as certain things clicked into place._

_"...Everytime I see this girl, huh?"  said Bunny out loud, quoting her "secret" admirer, his anger reaching new heights._

_She stopped. "What?"_

_"That cheap message... This guy was the one who sent it to you... Not that loser Dave, right?"_

_"Yes, Bunny! Vikram was the one who sent me those messages," she said, still completely clueless about what any of this had to do with the way he was behaving._

_And Bunny was suddenly afraid too. Afraid that --_

_"Do you love him?"_

_That he would lose the ONE person, who..._

_He didn't understand the look on her face as she walked away quietly, but he wasn't about to leave without answers. He followed her and asked, louder this time, "Do you love him?!"_

_They'd reached the pavilion thing when she'd finally turned and shouted back, "Why does it matter to YOU?!"_

_"It matters! I thought you only drank when you were with ME!" It sounded childish even to him, and he couldn't blame her for feeling confused._

_More quietly this time, "What are you trying to say, Bunny?"_

_"I'm just saying that... you should send this Vikram guy away."_

_"Why?!"_

_"Because I want you to spend all your time with me."_

_He was breathing deeply now, and her eyes looked almost pained._

_"Bunny... I was only here with Vikram because I can't spend another second with you... He's just a friend!"_

_"So... he's not your boyfriend?"_

_Voice shaking, eyes swimming with unshed tears, "No, Bunny he's not! Please stop creating a scene! Why don't you understand that if I spend any more time with you then..."_

_"...Then what, Naina?"_

_"I'll fall in love with you..."_

_His eyes widened slightly, and she continued, her voice incredibly soft, "...Again... And you won't... again."_

 

His heart had filled with an emotion he'd never felt before at that moment. A mix of regret for lost time, warmth, relief, happiness, and... love?

 

_And looking at her beautiful face, eyes glistening with unshed tears and despair, he didn't know what to say or do. So he walked over with racing heartbeats, and, placing one hand on the back of her neck, he kissed her._

_And it was beautiful._

 

Bunny could swear that it felt better than what was described in any cheesy, romantic novel (not that he'd read any).

 

_Her lips felt warm and soft beneath his. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer, even as they deepened the kiss._

_They pulled apart finally; Bunny breathing heavily, and Naina looking surprised. She blinked rapidly before leaving without a word._

_And he quietly watched her go, smiling slightly, because he needed to gather his thoughts too, but he'd never been happier._

 

He was sitting in the lawn with the others, old Bollywood songs playing in the background... And wondering why it took him so long to figure it out, while he waited for Naina to come out so he could tell her how much he loved her. That  _this_ time, he wasn't letting her go. Because he loved her.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this more than a year back and posted it on Wattpad and completely forgot about it! So I guess this is technically my first "romance" fic, not the one about Arya x Gendry :D I also haven't re-read it so blame any errors on 1.5-years-younger-me xDDD
> 
>  
> 
> ~ I'm teamtonystarkneedsahug on tumblr ~


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